Barbara Yaffe: Having tarred pipelines, environmentalists prepare to take on railways

Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun columnist06.04.2013

Carrying oil by railway tanker car is not without its risks as this 2005 CN derailment shows. But railways insist such spills tend to be smaller — because of the smaller amount of oil involved and the faster detection of spills — than those from pipelines.

He pointed to a letter sent last January to Canadian National CEO Claude Mongeau by opponents of the rail option.

That letter, signed by 15 environmental groups in B.C. plus the Council of Canadians, stated: “Should CN decide to try to move forward with [a pipeline-on-rails proposal], it would face major opposition and risks to the company. We urge you to stop any forward movement with shipping tarsands oil by rail through B.C.”

The letter asserts rail transport of diluted bitumen would be a worse option than a pipeline, posing “far greater fatality, injury and environmental risks.” (A recent Angus Reid poll puts B.C. opposition to new pipelines at 60 per cent.)

CN’s line runs along part of the Skeena River, and crosses the upper tributaries of both the Fraser and Skeena watersheds.

And, of course, like any transport option — even mule — rail would fuel greenhouse gas emissions by enabling continued oilsands development.

Moving the oil by rail also would enable oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast — anathema to environmentalists.

They also cite noise, poorer air quality and increased waiting times at rail crossings.

Rail’s cause hasn’t been helped in recent months by oil spills involving five CP rail tank cars near Jansen, Sask., and a CP derailment of oil-carrying railcars near White River in northern Ontario.

Proponents of oil-by-rail insist it’s a better choice than pipeline. While more costly, spills generally are smaller, because they’re detected quickly and usually involve only a few railcars.

At present, no oilsands product reaches B.C.’s coast by rail — because no port facilities exist to handle the oil.

But CN and CP railways transport four per cent of Western Canada’s oil. Their combined loads, according to Pembina figures, are fast increasing — from 17,000 rail cars in 2011 to 83,500 rail cars a year later.

Two proposals are being floated to get Alberta bitumen to tidewater.

• The G Seven Generations Ltd. project, to carry bitumen by electric railway to the TransAlaska pipeline in Delta Junction, Alaska, for shipment through Valdez. The project has received $1.8 million in funding from Alberta’s government and has received initial support from First Nations along the route, relieved the oil wouldn’t move by tanker along B.C.’s coast.

• A proposal from the Churchill Gateway Development Corp. envisions transport of Alberta crude through Manitoba for export out of Churchill.

Lemphers, at the Pembina Institute, says more study is needed before rail can be seen as “an appropriate option for moving oilsands,” especially through B.C.

He notes questions are being raised about whether rail cars and tracks need modification to improve safety. “Rail’s time of reckoning may be just around the bend.”

But the truth is, that train may have already left the station. Some 100,000 barrels of Canadian oil lately are moving to market by rail daily, helping ease Alberta’s ‘bitumen bubble’.

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Barbara Yaffe: Having tarred pipelines, environmentalists prepare to take on railways

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